Mozilla this week released a speedier version of Firefoxversion 9. But the browser is not the only thing that Mozilla sped up this year; it also adopted a Chrome-like rapid release cycle that resulted in five major browser releases in about nine months.

Mozilla today released an infographic that charts its accomplishments over the year, including a hefty speed boost. Firefox 9, released last night, is seven times faster than Firefox 3.6, which was released in January 2010, and 32 times faster than the first iteration of the Firefox browser. The revamped Firefox also uses up to 50 percent less memory, Mozilla said.

Those releases also brought with them 10,881 enhancements, 83 new features, and 135 new APIs. One of those features is the “do not track” option, which is in use by 17.6 percent of mobile users and 6 percent of desktop users.

Firefox gets its name from the endangered red panda cubs. To raise awareness about the animals, Mozilla has its Firefox Live site, which includes live streams of the red pandas at play. This year, fans tuned in for 4.5 million red panda video plays and 200,000 hours of cuteness. In honor of the browser’s seventh birthday in November, Mozilla adopted three cubs from the Knoxville Zoo and launched a 24-hour live stream of their activities.

This next year should be an interesting battle between Firefox and Google’s Chrome, whichdepending on which stats you consultovertook Firefox in some markets this year.